Bulldogs post six NAIA national qualifying marks at Bethel

By Josh SchroederMcPherson College

Saturday

Apr 14, 2018 at 12:36 AM

NORTH NEWTON — Competing without their distance crew, the McPherson College track and field team posted six NAIA Championship-qualifying performances, one school record and 10 team season-bests Thursday evening at the Bethel College Invitational at Thresher Stadium.

The Bulldogs took third in the men's teams race with 73 points and tied for sixth in the women's race with 31 points.

The McPherson men had five of those qualifying marks.

Hunter Sury placed fifth in the 100 with a 10.50 clocking - better than the NAIA "A" standard, but not quite to his team season-best mark of 10.48.

The Bulldogs' 4x100-relay team lowered their NAIA "A" qualifying time as the quartet of Matthew Bouwkamp, Xavier Taylor, Myles Sample and Sury stopped the clock in a school-record time of 41.43 seconds.

Brandt Wolters won the javelin throw with a throw of 61.53 meters (201-10), while Derek Naegele took second with a mark of 57.08 meters (187-3). Both marks surpassed the NAIA Championship automatic-qualifying standard, while Naegele set a new personal best.

Dylan Templeman bettered his NAIA B-cut effort in the discus with a runner-up toss of 48.39 meters (158-9).

Amari Heisser posted team season-bests with third-place finishes in both hurdle sprints. He ran 15.02 in the 110 hurdles and 55.35 in the 400 hurdles.

Cain Fowles posted a pair of PRs, taking fourth in the javelin (53.20m; 174-6) and fifth in the high jump (1.87m; 6-1.5)

Tanner Trigg posted a PR and team season-best in the hammer throw with a fourth-place throw of 45.19 meters (148-3). Templeman and Abel Villarreal also made the finals and PR'd. Templeman took sixth in 44.10 meters (144-8), while Villarreal was eighth with a throw of 42.14 meters (138-3).

Villarreal also set a new personal best in the shot put with a toss of 12.25 meters (40-2.25).

The quartet of Heisser, Cullen Grabast, Sam Standifer and Bryson Crayton posted a team season-best in the 4x400 with a time of 3:25.77.

Jack Stalcup cleared 3.60 meters (11-9.75) in the pole vault to establish a new personal record and team season-best.

Amy Braimbridge continued her dominant year in the quarter mile for the McPherson women, winning the 400 with a time of 56.79 seconds. Already with an automatic-qualifying mark to her credit, Thursday's time would rank ninth on the NAIA's performance list. Genevie Rivera posted a personal-best in the 400 as well, placing third with a 1:00.27 clocking.

Braimbridge also anchored McPherson to a runner-up finish in the 4x100 relay (49.25) and a fourth-place finish in the 4x400 relay (4:19.98).

Diamond Blaylock-Norris score a team season-best and PR in the 100, stopping the clock in 12.43, while Destiny Johnson posted new personal bests in both the 100 (12.54) and 200 (26.37).

Dejalynn Saili posted a pair of team season-bests, posting a 10.68-meter (35-0.5) effort in the shot put and placing eighth in the discus with a throw of 36.57 meters (120-0). Both efforts were also personal records. Ivanna Moyer and Tameria Macon also PR'd in the discus, with Moyer hitting 32.40 meters (106-3) and Macon 31.74 meters (104-2). Macon hit a second PR, this time in the hammer throw, with a toss of 25.77 meters (84-6). The hammer throw was kind to Ilanna Moyer as well, who posted a PR of 32.62 meters (107-0).

McPherson's distance runners did not compete Thursday evening but will be in action during Friday's distance carnival at the K.T. Woodman Classic hosted by Wichita State University at Cessna Stadium. The next competition as a full squad will be Saturday, April 21, at the Tabor College Invitational in Hillsboro.